Method oe curing tobacco



Reissued Nov. 24, 1931- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER E. LILIENFIELD, OF HIGHLAND PABK, ILLINOIS, ASEEIGNOR. TO LI'LIENFIELI) BROS. & COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1 METHOD OI. CURING TOBACCO 1T0 Drawing. Original No. 1,731,018, dated .October 8, 1929, Serial No. 176,303, filed March 17, 1927. Application for reissue filed November 1, 1930. Serial No. 492,862.

The invention relates to a method of curing tobacco.

In the manufacture of tobacco for smoking, it is necessary before blending and mixing to cure the strong and harsh raw material so as to modify its disagreeable taste and make it mild. It is now-common practice to eifect curing by ageing the tobacco or artificially obtaining the same result by means of a renewed fermentation induced by moisture and heat, or by mascerating the leaves in water acidulated with hydrochloric acid or some other chemical, and washing them out with pure water. These curing methods are objectionable because they require a great'deal of labor and time and are not as efiective as desired in rendering the strong tobacco mild.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of ourin strong and harsh tobacco preparatory to mixing and blending, which requires less time and labor than former methods and effectively renders the strong tobacco mild and fine so that it has an aromatic and pleasant flavor.

The improved method of curing is. applied to the tobacco after it has been aged and fermented and consists in loosening'and piling the tobacco leaves and then subjecting them to an ultra-violet ray. The latter may be produced by any suitable apparatus which is positioned above the pile a sufficient distance so that the leaves are not afi'ected by the heat generated by the ray. The ray is applied rom fifteen minutes to two hours depending upon the quality and thickness of the tobacco under treatment and the mildness desired.

In practice, thismethod of curing has been found to eliminate the necessity of ageing the tobacco for a long time or the labor involved in curing it by other methods. It has also been found to be the only method whereby any desired mildness may be obtained.

Having thus described the invention, what. I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. That improvement in. rendering mild and curing strong tobacco which consists in loosening previousl aged and fermented tobacco leaves and t on subjecting them to a machine created ultra-violet ray for a period ranging approximately from fifteen minutes to two hours to render them of the :desired mildness.

2. That improvement in the treatment of tobacco which consists in irradiating tobacco with machine created ultra-violet ray for a period ranging approximately from fifteen minutes to two hours.

3. That improvement in rendering tobacco mild which consists in arranging previously aged and fermentedtobacco in close proximity to a machine designed to produce ultraviolet ray and exposing the tobacco to the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine.

4. That improvement in the treatment of tobacco which consists in arranging previously aged and fermented tobacco in a loosened state beneath a machine designed to produce ultra-violet ray and exposing the tobacco to the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine to render it mild and less harsh.

5. That improvement in the curing of tobacco which consists in arranging tobacco in close proximity to a machine designed toproduce ultra-violet ray and exposing the tobacco to the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine for a period not exceedin two hours in order to render it mild an less harsh.

6. That improvement in the treatment of tobacco which consists in loosely arranging previously aged and fermented tobacco beneath a machine designed to produce ultraviolet ray and exposing the tobacco to the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine for a period not exceeding two hours in order to render it mild and less harsh.

7 That improvement in the treatment of tobacco, before mixing and blending, which consists in loosely arrangin harsh and strong previously aged and fermented tobacco leaves ben eath a machine designed to produce ultra-violet ray and exposing the tobacco leaves to the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine in order to render them mild and less harsh.

8. That improvement in treating tobacco which consists in loosely arranging previously aged and fermented tobacco beneath a machine designed to produce ultra-violet ray and at a sufiicient distance from the machine to prevent the heat generated by the machine during operation thereof, from affecting the 6 tobacco, and irradiating the tobacco with the ultra-violet ray produced by the machine to render it mild and less harsh.

9. That improvement in treating tobacco which consists in loosely arranging previously aged and fermented tobacco in close proximity to a machine designed expressly to produce-ultra-violet ray, and irradiating the tobacco with the machine-produced ultraviolet ray and in the absence of extraneous heat in order to-render the tobacco mild and less harsh.

10. That improvement in the treatment of tobacco before mixing and blending, which consists in loosely arrangin harsh and 20 strong, previously aged and ermented tobacco leaves beneath a machine designed expressly to produce ultra-violet ray and at a suflicient' distance from the machine to prevent the heat generated by the machine from v u affecting the tobacco, and exposing the tobacco leaves to the ultra-violet ray produced bythe machine for .a period not exceeding two hours and without extraneous heat for the urpose of rendering the leaves mild and 30 less arsh.

Chicago, Illinois, October 30th, 1930.

WALTER E, LILIENFIELD. 

